PUTTING WITH SUE
STORY BY MICHAEL SEGUIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL PIETRANGELO
Chartwell’s Own Senior’s Golf League THERE’S ONE GOLF LEAGUE in Windsor-Essex that is anything but par for the course. On Monday mornings, a gang of seniors gather in the Chartwell St. Clair Beach Retirement Residence courtyard. While the retirement community has installed a variety of state-of-the-art facilities, the Chartwell residents continue to flock to the newest feature: a three-hole putting green. The miniature golf course was installed on November 2017. Since the following July, every Monday morning the residents of Chartwell compete in their very own golf league: Putting with Sue! Putting with Sue! was launched by Sue Demers. A concierge at Chartwell St. Clair Beach Retirement Residence, Sue has spent the better part of her life on golf courses. “I took my first golf lessons when I was 12 years old,” Sue recalls. “I thought maybe it wasn’t for me, because I was a swimmer. Then when I was 22, I picked up the game and started entering tournaments. And now that I’m a senior, I still travel out of town to enter events. It’s a great sport. The camaraderie is amazing. I played in a lot of Ontario Amateurs and I can honestly say that I have a bed to stay in all over Ontario. You meet so many people through golf. It’s just so friendly.” Sue is also a chairman of the Tournament of Champions, a 34-year-old event that brings together all Club Champions from the Essex/Kent County district golf clubs. Sue was hired on at Chartwell St. Clair Beach Retirement Residence almost seven years ago. The idea for the miniature golf course was originally proposed by a resident named Ed Oleksiuk in 2016. From there, getting the green installed was a collaborative effort between Ed, Sue and General Manager Andrew Crow. “Andrew Crow was really supportive,” Sue states. “He’s a golfer himself. And it was very, very kind of Chartwell to install this. They were hesitant at first because they didn’t think it would get used. Now, whenever head office comes down, they are so excited. They’re thrilled that we have this great league.” Thanks to Putting with Sue!, Monday mornings have become energetic affairs. Clockwise from top left: Sue Demers, Rita Drouillard, Maria Roth, Dee Renaud and Gabe Rosati hang out around the green as Marjorie Kennette lines up a shot; Ross Garrod lends a balancing hand to Rita Drouillard; John Cooper lines up a putt; Andrew Crow, General Manager, Marg Corin, Maxine Gregg, Grace McCann, Gabe Rosati, Marjorie Kennette, Rita Drouillard, Marg Rivet and Sue Demers.
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